Thursday, November 09, 2006

Thai fish curry and a marathon, man

MARC has just undergone a rather painful dental experience, in the manner of Dustin Hoffman in Marathon Man.On Wednesday he was suddenly struck down by awful toothache and was forced to go to an emergency dentist. From the way he regaled the story last night, it sounded as if Sir Laurence Olivier was standing over him, drill poised, demanding: "Is it safe yet?"Of course, that didn't happen. What did happen was bad enough, though. Having had a localised injection to deaden the area, Marc was pretty sure it WAS safe. His face had swollen up and the area surrounding the troublesome tooth felt pretty numb.When the drill struck, though, it was a different matter. Our brave soldier yet out a painful yelp and spluttered above the teeth-grating sound: "Stop! Stop! It's not dead yet."Thankfully he lived to tell the tale in the pub last night when we all gathered to usher in Brammy's 50-and-quite-a-bit birthday.It seems Brammy's assertion he's "never had a problem with the Ladies" is quite accurate, too. There he was, holding court in the Boar's Backside, surrounded by six female admirers waiting on his every word. Clever old dog, Brammy. He knew he would get more cards if he invited more girls than blokes.Withers, meanwhile, is now more worried than ever that he has actually been cloned from me. Marc's dental story prompted me to relate a tale about the day I lost my two front teeth, falling off someone's shoulders and landing in the gutter during a particularly long boozing session. Cup final day, if I recall correctly. I spent the rest of the night showing off my war wounds in the local boozer, only to wake at 3 the following morning. "Aaaaaaaaaaah!"It appears Withers, too, had exactly the same tooth-shattering experience. On this occasion, he was the one doing the carrying, couldn't remain upright and cushioned his fall with his mouth. Result, he lost his two front teeth.Spooky.

TO DOFry the chopped spring onions for a couple of minutes until they soften, then at the garlic and carry on cooking.Add the coconut milk and thai green curry paste.Then add the fish and peas and cook until the fish is done. Add some coriander leaves towards the end of cooking.Serve with rice.